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Professional internet hacker shares his five tips to keeping your online data safe
In todays information age, more and more of our data is making its way online and if were not careful, it could end up in the hands of cybercriminals but a professional hacker has five key tips on how to avoid getting your data stolen.
Speaking to MailOnline, Kieran Burge – a security consultant at Prism Infosec who is hired to test companies cybersecurity to find weaknesses before criminals – revealed some of the most common mistakes that internet users make and explained several ways you can avoid having your phone or computer hacked.
Keep software up to date
One of the biggest mistakes that technology users can make is not updating out-of-date software on their devices – whether thats an iPhones iOS software or an entire hospitals digital operating system.
While it can be frustrating having to deal with a seemingly never-ending series of updates that can change settings on our phones, old software is one of the first targets of a hackers attack.
Out-of-date software is a really big issue because, Burge explained. If the software has been updated, it’s probably because there is a security issue.
So, when your phone is asking to carry out an update, its probably best not to put it off.
Do not use the same password on different websites
Something that an alarming number of internet users are guilty of is using the same password on accounts across multiple websites.
If a hacker were to get access to a password you use on several websites, it can be very easy for them to break into numerous online accounts at once compared to if you had a unique password for each site.
No matter what site you’re giving information to, you don’t know what they’re going to do with that information or how they’re going to protect it, Burges said. As soon as a company is breached there’s usually a big database dump that gets put on the dark web.
The dark web is made up of encrypted sites that cannot be accessed through traditional web browsers and is often used by cybercriminals to share and store stolen data.
In April 2023, the US Department of Justice announced that the FBI had brought down a dark web database called Genesis Market which stored details of more than 80 million online accounts.
Be careful what data you share online
Thanks to social media, its easier than ever to share information about our lives online, but Kieran warned: People need to think about how much information they’re sharing online.
One of the first places hackers look for information is social media as online profiles can potentially include usernames that can be linked to stolen login details.
A particularly dangerous type of cyberattack is what is known as sim-jacking where a hacker will scour online profiles for details such as your birth date, address, or even pet names and mothers maiden name.
This is then used to contact your phone network provider to convince them to transfer your phone number onto a new sim.
Once they have that you suddenly have access to all the multi-factor authentication sites that the person is signed up to, Burges warned.
Avoid public Wi-Fi
Public Wi-Fi networks like those in coffee shops or at airports can be a hotbed of hacker activity as they are rarely as secure as private network connections.
Networks such as these use open authentication which means that any data you send through them is not encrypted.
If you have to use public Wi-Fi, Burges recommends using a VPN to help scramble your data and keep it safe from hackers.
Be careful of clicking on suspicious links
Something that is regarded as Rule One of the internet by many is to be wary of clicking on any links that are found in a suspicious email or on a dodgy-looking webpage.
Phishing is one of the most common forms of cyberattack and there are an estimated 3.4 billion malicious emails sent out every day that masquerade as being from trusted sources.
You need to be vigilant of anyone that is sending you something when you don’t expect it, Kieran said. Don’t click on dodgy links, don’t download dodgy files, don’t fall into their trap.
